November 09, (THEWILL) – Inter Milan booked their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages with a dramatic 1-0 away win over RB Salzburg on Wednesday night.
The Italian giants relied on super-sub Lautaro Martinez, who came off the bench to net the decisive penalty in the 85th minute. The Argentine striker slotted home confidently from the spot to secure Inter’s passage into the last 16 with 10 points from their 4 group matches.
Salzburg had frustrated Inter for much of the game thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Alexander Schlager. However, the Austrian side finally succumbed to Serie A’s leading scorer Martinez late on.
Inter started slowly but grew into the game, with Hakan Calhanoglu and Alexis Sanchez both going close in the first half. The Italians turned the screw after the break, even though Federico Dimarco and Kristjan Asllani failed to capitalise on good chances.
That was before Nicolo Barella’s shot struck Salzburg midfielder Mads Bidstrup’s arm in the box and Martinez kept his cool to find the net from 12 yards. The victory leaves Inter and Real Sociedad seven points clear of RB Salzburg in Group D with two games left.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
